The myths and legend still abound over Syd Barrett and his relatively short life in music and abrupt retirement from the music world in 1975. It had been 10 heady years of spiraling experimentation with music, performance and drugs until he disappeared from view.
So naturally it's always going to be intriguing to know what the last recordings were whether finished or not. For years no one knew much.
"In August 1974, Peter Jenner persuaded Barrett to return to Abbey Road Studios in hope of recording another album. According to John Leckie, who engineered these sessions, even at this point Syd still "looked like he did when he was younger..long haired". The sessions lasted three days and consisted of blues rhythm tracks with tentative and disjointed guitar overdubs, Barrett recorded 11 tracks.
WIKI
The most surprising thing when hearing them is considering Syd's previous work and how unusual his approach was to playing and songwriting these short extracts reveal a more conventional approach.
The first track being supported by a double bass player has Syd returning to more or less straight ahead rock and roll in the Bo Diddley style. Was he reminding himself of where he began with guitar or just a bit of a warm up for the session to come? It's all over in a minute and half and is vaguely titled 'Boogie #1'.
Next "Boogie #2", a layered blues and more funky piece with wah guitar and echo.. it wanders and dissolves in similar time.
If "You Go #2" begins with melancholy chords you could hear as potential song material before running to a wandering sad guitar line.
Despite the last take being named "John Lee Hooker" it's something you'd have more likely heard from Marc Bolan's pop records 2 years later on "I Love To Boogie" with it's similar damped string 12 bar turnover. The tape stops and then restarts with the same riff pattern dissolving at the end.
It's all rather curious, but it is also quite charming and personal. Part psychedelic with it's wah guitar overlays and part blues rock and roll.
Whether chucked out of Abbey Road Studios by an impatient record company or just abandoned out of frustration "Once again, Barrett withdrew from the music industry. He sold the rights to his solo albums back to the record label and moved into a London hotel".
The video pictures have caused some discussion as to the identity of two young women but one YT commenter seems to have nailed it -
"The woman shown at 0:26 is Evelyn Rose (Iggy The Inuit). This photo was taken outside Syd's flat at Wetherby Mansions, Earls Court, London by Mick Rock during a photography session for The Madcap Laughs album. The woman shown at 4:02 is Sheila Rock who was then Mick Rock's wife. They have since divorced. This photo was taken in Syd's back-garden a few years later."
Céline Cendrars
